Press



June 6, 1939. F B K LL 2,161,257

PRESS Filed June 23, 1938 gl. a4 X 14 Patented June 6, 1939 UNITE STATES PRESS Frank Bycroft Keall, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 23, 1938, Serial No. 215,468 In Great Britain October 4, 1937 Claims. (01. 164-23),

This invention relates to presses and, more particularly, to presses of the class utilized in the cutting of sheet material by means of freely movable dies. The invention is illustrated as embodied in a machine of the. type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 921,503, granted May 11,. 1909;, on application of Arthur Bates.

Presses of this type are known commercially as clicking machines and are extensively employed in the. cutting of blanks from leather and other kinds of sheet. material.

Such a machine comprises a work support or cutting block and av beam arranged to swing over the block and having a pressure applying surface. of considerably less area than the. block.

' In operating. the machine, the presser member is swung laterally by hand into operative relation over work on the block and then, after each pressure applying operation, it. is swung to one side so as to uncover the work for inspection and to permit the desired free manipulation of the work and of the, die.

It is. a principal object of the present invention to provide a presser member suitable for use inclicking presses which shall have, superior qualities of lightness of weight, rigidity and durability. The principal. features of a beam construction according to the invention are that the beam is mainly composed of a light plate, or platen, reinforced against bending by a few flanges or ribs, and. that the beam as. a whole is effectively strutted: against bending away from the work support with which it. cooperates. Other objects will appear from the following specification.

Referring to the drawing which forms a part of this specification,

Fig. 1. shows in side. elevation the upper part of a clicking, press provided. with a. beam embodying'theinvention; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the beam.

Referring to. Fig. 1, the hub portion in of the beam is held by bolts l2 to the post [4, which is rotatableby the operator in the usual manner in bearings in the frame [6 of the press. The post and beam are arranged to be vertically reciprocated by power to-bring the beam down on to a die and work: supported on the block [8, also in the manner usual in clocking presses, a trip handie, 20 mounted on the beam being, employed to throw in the power as. described inthe. patent above referred to.

The hub portion in of the. beam of the illustrated machine is of cast iron, weight at this region of the beam not being a. matter of great importance owingto itsbeing located just around the center about which the beam swings. The active face of the beam, however, is formed by a plate 24, for example of rolled sheet steel about of an inch thick welded at 25 to the hub portion. The plate 24 is reinforced against bending out of its own plane by diagonal flanges 26,

longitudinal flanges 28 and a lateral end flange- 30, as best shown in Fig. 2. All these reinforcing flanges or ribs are conveniently of sheet steel and are welded edgewise to the plate 24, the diagonal cross flanges 26 being also welded vertically to each other, to the hub portion l6 and to the struts 32 now to be described.

The beam as a whole is strutted against distortion out of parallelism with the block face by two tapered tubular struts 32 welded all around their larger lower ends to the plate 24 and converging upwardly and rearwardly toward the post l4 at an angle of about forty-five degrees. The metal of which the struts 32 are made may be of as small thickness as of an inch sheet steel. At their upper ends the struts are welded into two castings 34 which are hollow for most of their length, as indicated at 35 in Fig. 1. The upper ends of both the castings 34 are provided with spigots, of which one is indicated at 31 in Fig. 1, and are welded to a common solid head 36 having a rounded upper end 38 received in a corresponding socket in cap 40 which preferably is in one piece with the post I 4. Bolts 42 passing through lugs in the fittings 36 and 40 connect these parts rigidly, the rounded end of the head being thereby firmly seated in the recess of the cap.

A spindle 44 which guides the handle 20 is welded into the plate 24 at its lower end and near its upper end has a stay plate 46 welded to the struts 32.

The presser member above described is inexpensive to construct and gives great rigidity with a minimum of weight at the outer end of the beam which has to be moved through the greatest distance in working with the press. Because of the tapered shape of the straight tubular struts and the angles at which they are inclined toward each other and toward the post, their larger lower ends engage and reinforce the plate over substantial elliptical areas at opposite sides near the free end of the beam, and compression strains resisted by the struts are transmitted through the ball-and-socket-like connection at 38 to the center of the post l4 and to the machine frame.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a clicking machine having a cutting block and a vertically reciprocable post, a presser member comprising a hub portion carried on the post, a reinforced plate projecting from said hub portion and extending parallel to the surface of the block, tapered tubular struts having their larger ends secured in abutment with the upper surface of the plate, said struts extending upwardly from the plate at inclinations toward each other and toward the post, and means connecting the smaller upper ends of the struts to the post.

2. In a clicking machine having a cutting block and a vertically reciprocable post, a. presser member comprising a hub portion carried on the post, a reinforced plate projecting from said hub portion and extending parallel to the surface of the block, tubular struts secured to the upper surface of the plate, said struts extending upwardly from the plate at inclinations toward each other and toward the post, and means connecting the upper ends of the struts to the post, said means comprising a fitting on the post having a socket formed therein, a fitting on the upper ends of the struts having a central projection engaged in said socket and means holding said fittings together.

3. In a clicking machine having a work support and a vertically reciprocable post, a presser member comprising a hub portion carried on the post, a reinforced steel plate welded at one end to said hub portion and extending parallel to the surface of the work support, straight tubular struts welded tothe upper surface of the plate adjacent to the other end thereof, said struts extending upwardly at inclinations to each other and toward the post, and means connecting the upper ends of the struts to the post, said means comprising a fitting on the post having a socket formed therein, a fitting on the upper ends of the struts having a central rounded projection engaged in said socket and bolts holding said fittings together.

l. In a clicking machine, a work support, a post, and a presser member comprising a hub portion supported on the post, a reinforced steel plate welded at one end to said hub portion and extending parallel to the surface of the work support, a pair of tapered tubular struts arranged side by side and having their larger lower ends welded to the upper surface of the plate adjacent to the other end thereof, said struts being straight and extending upwardly at inclinations toward each other and toward the post, and means connecting the upper ends of the struts to the post.

5. In a clicking machine having a Work support and a vertically reciprocable post, a presser member comprising a hub portion carried on the post, a plate of sheet steel welded at one end to said hub portion and extending parallel to the surface of the work support, straight tubular struts welded to the upper surface of the plate adjacent to the other end thereof, said struts extending upwardly at an inclination to each other and toward the post, means connecting the upper ends of the struts to the post. and a plurality of sheet metal reinforcing flanges welded edgewise to the upper surface of the plate.

6. In a clicking machine having a work support and a vertically reciprocable post, a presser member comprising a hub portion carried on the post, a plate of sheet steel welded at one end to said hub portion and extending parallel to the surface of the work support, straight tubular struts welded to the upper surface of the plate adjacent to the other end thereof, said struts extending upwardly at an inclination to each other and toward the post, means connecting the upper ends of the struts to the post, and a plurality of sheet metal reinforcing flanges welded edgewise to the upper surface of. the plate, said flanges comprising longitudinal side flanges, an end flange, and diagonal cross flanges, said cross flanges being also welded vertically to each other, to said hub portion and respectively to said struts.

7. In a clicking machine having a work support and a vertically reciprocable post, a presser member comprising a hub portion supported on the post, a plate of sheet steel welded at one end to said hub portion and extending parallel to the surface .of the Work support, a pair of tapered tubular struts arranged side by side and having their larger lower ends welded to the upper surface of the plate adjacent to the other end thereof, said struts being straight and extending upwardly at inclinations toward each other and toward the post, a fitting on the upper ends of the struts having a central rounded projection formed thereon, a fitting on the post having a socket formed therein and engaged by said projection, bolts holding said fittings together, and a plurality of sheet metal reinforcing flanges welded edgewise to the upper surface of the plate, said flanges comprising longitudinal side flanges, an end flange and diagonal cross flanges, said cross flanges being also welded vertically to each other, to the hub portion and respeotivelyto said struts.

8. A presser member for use in a clicking machine comprising a hub portion for connection to the post of the machine, a reinforced steel plate welded at its rearward end to said hub portion, straight tubular struts welded to the upper surface of, the plate adjacent to the forward end thereof, said struts extending upwardly, rearwardly, and convergently with respect to each other, and means connecting the upper ends of the struts, said means comprising a fitting for connecting the struts in abutment with the post of the machine.

9. A presser member for use in a clicking machine comprising a hub portion for connection to the post of the machine, a plate of reinforced sheet steel welded at its rearward end to said'hub portion, tapered tubular struts arranged side by side and having their larger lower ends welded to the upper surface of the plate adjacent to the forward end thereof, said struts extending upwardly, rearwardly and convergently with respect to each other, and means connecting the upper ends of the struts, said means comprising a fitting for connecting the struts in abutment with the post of the machine.

10. A presser member for use in a clicking machine comprising a hub portion for connection to the post of. the machine, a plate of sheet steel welded at its rearward end to said hub portion, straight tubular struts welded to the upper surface of the plate adjacent to the forward end thereof, said struts extending upwardly, rearwardly and convergently with respect to each other, means connecting the upper ends of the struts, said means comprising a fitting for connecting the struts in abutment with the post of the machine, and sheet metal reinforcing ribs welded edgewise to the upper surface of said plate and forming longitudinal side flanges, an end flange and diagonal cross flanges, said cross flanges being also welded vertically to each other and respectively to said struts.

FRANK BYCROFT KEALL. 

